God's love for us... (5)

Learning to write...

When I read tonight’s Scripture, you may wonder why I chose this title, but before I’m done, you should know why.

Let’s read tonight’s Scripture.

1 John 2:7–11 NIV

7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

The commandment that we are talking about tonight is love. I’m not talking about the wedding scene in Princess bride.

“We would not be here today without wuv. Wuv, twoo wuv between these two. Twoo wuv will follow you forevah, so tweasure your wuv...”

When God gave Moses the Law, this is what

Leviticus 19:18 NIV

18 “ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

We know that there are two great commandment.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is to love your neighbour as yourself.

John was giving a new commandment, but it built upon the old commandment, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”

If we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others? So as we learn, receive, and walk in God’s love, we can have that agape love for our neigbours.

I came across an illustration that’s a simple illustration, but it’s profound.

I found it in Sermon Central: Bobby Oliver is the contributor. It’s called,

God’s love and cursive handwriting...

This is what he says,

“When I was in Kindergarten, the teachers taught me the Alphabet. Obviously, before you can learn how to spell, you have to learn the alphabet. As you learn to spell words, you learn that the letters are written separate, so you lift your pencil up every time you write a letter.

Then, when I was in third grade, I learned how to write cursive. With cursive writing, I was learning the same letters I already learned in Kindergarten, but was writing them fancier. And when I wrote a word, instead of lifting the pencil up for each letter, the letters would be joined together, in one pen stroke, most of the time.

Well it’s the same with God’s commandment to love. It’s not new…It’s been around since the beginning of Creation, with Adam and Eve. Then, when God gave the Law through Moses, He was very specific in Leviticus 19:18 and Deut 6:5 to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Fast forward to when Jesus came, and He said, “A new Commandment I give to you, to love one another as I have loved you.” It’s the same commandment, but Jesus is more specific…“As I have loved you…” So instead of loving your neighbor as yourself, we’re told to love as He loves us, and that’s a higher standard, given by Jesus to the church.

So, just like cursive handwriting is written with the same letters from the alphabet, but is more beautiful, so too is Christ’s command to love one another. Love is still love, but loving like Christ is more beautiful. It's something we learn when we become Christians, and grow in our walk with Him.

Over the years, probably when I went to Bible College and University, I got a little lazy while trying to keep up in my note taking. I really have to concentrate if I’m going to use my cursive handwriting. Lots of times I just print, and other times, I half write and half print.

I know it’s a bad habit. When I was in public school, I used to exclusively write cursively for my class notes, my papers, and my exams.

I wonder sometimes, if we don’t fall into bad habits in the way that we love. We love our neighbours as ourselves, but sometimes we are so hard on ourselves, and at times we don’t even love ourselves. Satan hurls insults and tells us that we aren’t good enough. He tells us that God could never love us, and yet,

Romans 8:1–2 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

I wonder, if we find it hard to believe or accept God’s love, if that affects how we love others.

This New Commandment is,

Love as I have loved you...

1 John 2:8 NIV

8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Isaiah 9:2 NIV

2 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. This is where we take special time and remember the birth of Christ and also look forward to His Second Coming.

When Jesus came, He brought light into the darkness.

John 8:12 NIV

12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Light and darkness can’t be in the same place. Light pushes back darkness. On November 11th, Donna saw vivid pictures of Northern lights on Facebook. We took the kids out north of the cemetery, but we were too late, we missed them. We decided to go out the next evening as they were supposed to be amazing. We drove out by the golf course and shut of the van, and stepped outside and waited for the northern lights, the aurora borealis. They were amazing. It was like we were in the center of them. As we looked up into the sky, they were in dancing in each direction. They were absolutely amazing.

Where there is darkness,

How great is that darkness?

1 John 2:9 NIV

9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.

1 John 2:11 NIV

11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

Just as light and darkness cannot exist in the same place, agape love and hate cannot exist in a Christian.

It comes down to choices. We can choose to hate. We can choose to not forgive. We can choose to allow resentment to fester into bitterness, but agape love, God’s love and you and me choosing to hate a brother or sister in Christ cannot co-mingle in believers.

There are times when words are spoken to us. Harsh words can break our hearts, and yet we need to give those hurts and disappointments to Christ. He can carry them. Is it easy? No! But Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light. If we hate others, we are just stumbling around in darkness.

To close,

1 John 2:10 NIV

10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.

When we are walking in the love of God, when we are living in the love of God, there is nothing in us that can make us stumble.

Let’s allow that to sink in for a minute. When God’s love is flowing through us. When we are surrendered to His love, nothing can make us stumble.

We stumble when we stray. We stumble when we wander. We stumble when we follow our own evil desires, our flesh.

Romans 8:3-4 compare the old commandment with the new.

Romans 8:3–4 NIV

3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The first fruit of theSpirit listed is

Love...

It is perfect love that drives out fear. It is love that covers a multitude of sin. May God’s love drive out any hate that has been allowed to lodge in our hearts. May His love cast out fear, and may His love cover over a multitude of sins.

Let’s pray!